Rome
| religions = Jupiterianism, Stoicism, Peripateticism | imports = Metal, dyes, grain | exports = Concrete mix, plumbing pipes | alignment = | source = GURPS Imperial Rome | page = 5 }} As the Hellenic Empire in the East is broken into smaller Kingdoms. As Phaeselis is doing it's best to make something of itself, the Colonies of the West and their Carthaginian and Elvish rivals may face a city who is more terrible than them all. This is Rome. Rome is a city that is growing in power. The city had it's humble beginnings during the Old Empires' expansion and now the forces of all that is good and right in the world has chosen the city with a Republic to stand on the world stage in the West. The city is still insignificant. But with its Republic in it's height and the building of the citizen legions, wars may erupt soon as Rome goes to quell the fighting. History of Rome The mythic origins of Rome claim that Rome was founded by refugees from the city of Troy and the Latin inhabitants of the peninsula somewhere between the fall of Pelops and the rise of the old Empire of Assyria, about five hundred years before Alexander's birth, when herdsmen and peasant tribes united under a monarchy. The Monarchy of Rome There are three ethnic groups that are involved in the origins of the Roman monarchy. These are the Sabines, the Etruscans, and the Latins. The first are a farming people whose culture has some Hellene influence. The Etruscans are the more advanced of the three, however. The writing system of the Etruscans was different, although their art and architecture are similar to the Hellenes' styles. They were also fascinated by magic and divination (see below). The last group, who were the herdsmen and peasants, were the Latins. They were the most primitive of the three. A rex, or a king, ruled the early Monarchy. He was the High Priest (Pontifex Maximus), the lawmaker, and the military commander. The kings, excluding Romulus, who according to legend held office by virtue of being the city's founder, were all elected by the people of Rome to serve for life, with none of the kings relying on military force to gain or keep the throne. The end of the Monarchy by a Rex when the king's son, Sextus Tarquinius, raped Lucretia, wife and daughter to powerful Roman nobles. Lucretia then told her relatives about the attack, and subsequently committed suicide to avoid the dishonour of the episode. Four men, led by Lucius Junius Brutus, and including also Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, Publius Valerius Poplicola, and Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus incited a revolution, and as a result Tarquinius and his family were deposed and expelled from Rome in 509 B.C. Because of his actions and the way they were viewed by the people, the word for King, Rex, became a curse and byword in the Latin language. Call someone Rex and you are calling them the equivalent of dictator. The Republic The Monarchy was put down, and a representative republic was set up in it's stead. For starters, the Constitution of the Roman Republic was an unwritten set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent. The Roman constitution was not formal or even official. It was largely unwritten, uncodified, and constantly evolving. The Republic was served by the Senate, the Assembly of the People, two Consuls, and ten Tribunes. The Senate The Senate's ultimate authority derived from the esteem and prestige of the senators. This esteem and prestige was based on both precedent and custom, as well as the high caliber and prestige of the senators. The senate passed decrees, which were called senatus consulta. This was officially "advice" from the senate to a magistrate. In practice, however, these were usually obeyed by the magistrates. The focus of the Roman senate was usually directed towards foreign policy. Though it technically had no official role in the management of military conflict, the senate ultimately was the force that oversaw such affairs. The power of the senate expanded over time as the power of the legislative assemblies declined, and the senate took a greater role in ordinary law-making. Its members were usually appointed by Roman Censors, who usually selected newly elected magistrates for membership in the senate, making the senate a de facto elected body. During times of military emergency, such as the civil wars of the 1st century BC, this practice became less prevalent, as the Roman Dictator, Triumvir or the senate itself would select its members. The legal status of Roman citizenship was limited and was a vital prerequisite to possessing many important legal rights such as the right to trial and appeal, to marry, to vote, to hold office, to enter binding contracts, and to special tax exemptions. An adult male citizen with the full complement of legal and political rights was called "optimo jure." The optimo jure elected their assemblies, whereupon the assemblies elected magistrates, enacted legislation, presided over trials in capital cases, declared war and peace, and forged or dissolved treaties. There were two types of legislative assemblies. The first was the comitia ("committees"), which were assemblies of all optimo jure. The second was the concilia ("councils"), which were assemblies of specific groups of optimo jure. The Assemblies of the People Citizens were organized on the basis of centuries and tribes, which would each gather into their own assemblies. The Comitia Centuriata ("Century Assembly") was the assembly of the centuries (i.e. soldiers). The president of the Comitia Centuriata was usually a consul. The centuries would vote, one at a time, until a measure received support from a majority of the centuries. The Comitia Centuriata would elect magistrates who had imperium powers (consuls and praetors). It also elected censors. Only the Comitia Centuriata could declare war, and ratify the results of a census. It also served as the highest court of appeal in certain judicial cases. The assembly of the tribes (i.e. the citizens of Rome), the Comitia Tributa, was presided over by a consul, and was composed of 35 tribes. The tribes were not ethnic or kinship groups, but rather geographical subdivisions. The order that the thirty-five tribes would vote in was selected randomly by lot. Once a measure received support from a majority of the tribes, the voting would end. While it did not pass many laws, the Comitia Tributa did elect quaestors, curule aediles, and military tribunes. The Plebeian Council was identical to the assembly of the tribes, but excluded the patricians (the elite who could trace their ancestry to the founding of Rome). They elected their own officers, plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles. Usually a plebeian tribune would preside over the assembly. This assembly passed most laws, and could also act as a court of appeal. The Executive Magistrates Finally, there are the Magistrates. Each republican magistrate held certain constitutional powers. Only the People of Rome (both plebeians and patricians) had the right to confer these powers on any individual magistrate.189 The most powerful constitutional power was imperium. Imperium was held by both consuls and praetors. Imperium gave a magistrate the authority to command a military force. All magistrates also had the power of coercion. This was used by magistrates to maintain public order. While in Rome, all citizens had a judgement against coercion. This protection was called provocatio (see below). Magistrates also had both the power and the duty to look for omens. This power would often be used to obstruct political opponents. One check on a magistrate's power was his collegiality. Each magisterial office would be held concurrently by at least two people. Another such check was provocatio. Provocatio was a primordial form of due process. It was a precursor to habeas corpus. If any magistrate tried to use the powers of the state against a citizen, that citizen could appeal the decision of the magistrate to a tribune. In addition, once a magistrate's one-year term of office expired, he would have to wait ten years before serving in that office again. This created problems for some consuls and praetors, and these magistrates would occasionally have their imperium extended. In effect, they would retain the powers of the office (as a promagistrate), without officially holding that office. The consuls of the Roman Republic were the highest ranking ordinary magistrates; each consul served for one year. Consuls had supreme power in both civil and military matters. While in the city of Rome, the consuls were the head of the Roman government. They would preside over the senate and the assemblies. While abroad, each consul would command an army. His authority abroad would be nearly absolute. Praetors administered civil law195 and commanded provincial armies. Every five years, two censors were elected for an 18 month term, during which they would conduct a census. During the census, they could enroll citizens in the senate, or purge them from the senate.196 Aediles were officers elected to conduct domestic affairs in Rome, such as managing public games and shows. The quaestors would usually assist the consuls in Rome, and the governors in the provinces. Their duties were often financial. Since the tribunes were considered to be the embodiment of the plebeians, they were sacrosanct. Their sacrosanctity was enforced by a pledge, taken by the plebeians, to kill any person who harmed or interfered with a tribune during his term of office. All of the powers of the tribune derived from their sacrosanctity. One consequence was that it was considered a capital offense to harm a tribune, to disregard his veto, or to interfere with a tribune. In times of military emergency, a dictator would be appointed for a term of six months. Constitutional government would be dissolved, and the dictator would be the absolute master of the state. When the dictator's term ended, constitutional government would be restored. Roman Society Roman citizens are divided into several classes. So, early in the city's history, these divisions became rigid. but by the time that Rome was conquering the Alexandrian Kingdoms, these lines have become blurred. As in, ex-slaves have become powerful and rich enough to mingle with members of the Patrician class, and their sons might aspire to join the Equestrian class. And vice versa. However, cutting through all this was the informal institution of patronage, which was a series of personal relationships that kept everything together. The Patriarchal Family Unlike some societies today, Romans considered the family to be the most important component of their society. Everything about their social and political relationships was based on the family pattern. Based on a patriarchal mode of society, women and slaves were treated as children, and as such they required the control of a master in order to truly function in society. The basic units of Roman society were households and families. Households included the head (usually the father) of the household, pater familias (father of the family), his wife, children, and other relatives. In the upper classes, slaves and servants were also part of the household. The head of the household had great power (patria potestas, "father's power") over those living with him: He could force marriage (usually for money) and divorce, sell his children into slavery, claim his dependents' property as his own, and even had the right to punish or kill family members. This is often being frowned upon. Patria potestas even extended over adult sons with their own households: A man was not considered a paterfamilias, nor could he truly hold property, while his own father lived. During the early period of Rome's history, a daughter, when she married, fell under the control (manus) of the paterfamilias of her husband's household, although by the late Republic this fell out of fashion, as a woman could choose to continue recognizing her father's family as her true family. However, as Romans reckoned descent through the male line, any children she had belonged to her husband's family. Little affection was shown for the children of Rome. The mother or an elderly relative often raised both boys and girls. Unwanted children were often sold as slaves. Children might have waited on tables for the family, but they could not have participated in the conversation. In noble families a Greek nurse usually taught the children Latin and Greek. Their father taught the boys how to swim and ride, although he sometimes hired a slave to teach them instead. At seven, a boy began his education. Having no school building, classes were held on a rooftop (if dark, the boy had to carry a lantern to school). Wax-covered boards were used because paper, papyrus, and parchment were too expensive—or he could just write in the sand. A loaf of bread to be eaten was also carried. Groups of related households formed a family (gens). Families were based on blood ties or adoption, but were also political and economic alliances. Especially during the Roman Republic, some powerful families, or Gentes Maiores, came to dominate political life. In ancient Rome, marriage was often regarded more as a financial and political alliance than as a romantic association, especially in the upper classes (see marriage in ancient Rome). Fathers usually began seeking husbands for their daughters when these reached an age between twelve and fourteen. The husband was usually older than the bride. While upper class girls married very young, there is evidence that lower class women often married in their late teens or early 20s. The Military Rome in the world of Lemurias is the biggest threat to Magna Hellas and the upstart Kingdom of Arc Teryx, not because of their numbers but because of their organization. Magic in Rome For most of Roman History in Lemurias, magic was considered superstition as Oracles and Diviners (wizards who used the Divination school) was consulted. However, battles with the Massalian Elves have forced the issue. The Romans need to learn more powerful forms of magic if they are going to defeat the magically superior Elves. And despite the wierdness (Mount Vesuvius erupting and destroying Pompeii centuries before it's time, and the strange lights), the Romans have discounted magic as superstition. Until know. Suffering a powerful defeat by the Massalian Elves during a trade dispute, the Romans have been capturing Celtic, Hellenic, and Carthaginian Wizards and using them to start a college of magic, i.e. the Arcanologica. This was a dismal failure. Despite this, a few children were born with strange abilities (Sorcerers and latent psions), and some of the Romans persued magic on their own. Sorcerers who finally came into their own despite persection (called the venefici) were pressed into a sorcerer corps. And the magi (wizards) had to be carefully trained. A battle with the Massalian Elves had barely turned the tide, despite the Military not carefully choosing their sorcerers in the sorcerer corps. References Picture Gallery As-assembly.jpg Giulio-cesare-enhanced 1-800x1450.jpg Roman-senate.jpg Roman soldier in lorica segmentata 1.jpg Category:Rome Category:The World Category:Gazetteer Category:World